T.S. Eliot described The Moonstone as "the first and the greatest English detective novel". The stone of the title is an enormous diamond plundered from an Indian shrine after the Siege of Seringapatam. Given to Miss Verinder on her 18th birthday, it mysteriously disappears that very night. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who have been seen in the neighbourhood.

The Woman in White

One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal best seller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Charles Dickens. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall audiences today.

A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs: An Inspector Felse Mystery

A vacation in Cornwall embroils the Felse family in the beguiling 18th-century legend of Jan Treverra and his beloved Morwena. When Felse assists a famous scholar in exhuming their bodies, he pulls away the stone on an even greater mystery.

The Woman in White

Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed all in white. He saves her from capture by her pursuers, and determines to solve the mystery of her distress and terror. This gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness and mistaken identity has never been out of print since its publication.

The Daughters of Cain

Little progress had been made by the Thames Valley Police since the discovery of a corpse in a North Oxford flat. The victim had been killed by a single stab wound to the stomach. The police had no weapon, no suspect, no motive, but within days of taking over the investigation, Chief Inspector Morse and Detective Sergeant Lewis uncover startling new information about the life and death of the victim, Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College, Oxford.

A Beautiful Place to Die

Unfolding in 1952 South Africa, A Beautiful Place to Die is a riveting international mystery that flows from the pen of author Malla Nunn. Police officer Emmanuel Cooper is dispatched to a remote town after a police captain is found murdered in a creek. Even though Cooper judges the crime open and shut, the government's feared Special Branch is summoned, making for an intrigue that will titillate any mystery fan.

Syndrome E

The classic police procedural meets cutting-edge science in this huge international best seller. Already a runaway bestseller in France, Syndrome E tells the story of beleaguered detective Lucie Henebelle, whose old friend has developed a case of spontaneous blindness after watching an extremely rare—and violent—film from the 1950s. Embedded in the film are subliminal images so unspeakably heinous that Lucie realizes she must get to the bottom of it—especially when nearly everyone who comes into contact with the film starts turning up dead.

Persuasion

Anne Elliott, the middle daughter of the vain, judgmental and lavish Baronet, Sir Walter Elliott, is persuaded by her family friend, Lady Russell, not to wed the man of her dreams Captain Wentworth. Ultimately regretting her decision to do so, years later, as fate would have it, Anne once again crosses path with Wentworth in another town. When Sir Walter and his daughters are forced to let their Estate - Kellynch Hall - to pay off Sir Walters debts, the family ends up relocating to Bath.

The Woman in White

Walter Hartright, a drawing teacher to two sisters, wants to marry Laura, though she is betrothed to another. But who is the mysterious woman in white he encounters? Wilkie Collins was a master of suspense, but his transfer to audiobook requires a cast of readers to faithfully reflect the11 different characters who tell the story. Naxos AudioBooks brings together a strong cast to bring alive the mystery and suspense of The Woman in White.

The Woman in White

Late one night, a drawing teacher meets a mysterious woman dressed in white. Who is she, and what is her connection to the teacher's new pupil, a beautiful heiress? Serialized in 1859 - 1860, and first published in book form in 1860 it is still regarded still as one of the best plots in English literature. Told from multiple perspectives, the story is brought to life by its marvellous villains and complex, spirited and believable female characters.

Inspector of the Dead

The year is 1855. The Crimean War is raging. The incompetence of British commanders causes the fall of the English government. The empire teeters. Amid this crisis comes opium-eater Thomas De Quincey, one of the most notorious and brilliant personalities of Victorian England. Along with his irrepressible daughter, Emily, and their Scotland Yard companions, Ryan and Becker, De Quincey finds himself confronted by an adversary who threatens the heart of the nation.

The Late Scholar: The Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet, Book 4

When a dispute among the fellows of St. Severin's College, Oxford University, reaches a stalemate, Lord Peter Wimsey discovers that as the Duke of Denver he is "the Visitor" - charged with the task of resolving the issue. It is time for Lord Peter and his detective novelist wife Harriet to revisit their beloved Oxford, where their long and literate courtship finally culminated in their engagement and marriage.

The Cat Dancers

When two lowlifes rob a gas station, murder the attendant, and then incinerate bystanders who are filling up their minivan, the Manceford County, North Carolina, police quickly arrest the killers at a nearby motel.

The Eustace Diamonds

Who owns the Eustace Diamonds? Lizzie Eustace claims that Sir Florian Eustace, her late husband, gave them to her. But Mr Camperdown, the family solicitor, insists that they are an heirloom, to be passed down from generation to generation. Lizzie is both beautiful and clever, yet Mr Camperdown believes her to be a scheming liar. And Mr Camperdown is right! The battle for the diamonds rages until a robbery intervenes and they disappear. Or do they...?

Doctor Thorne

Frank Gresham, son of the impoverished squire of Greshambury, has fallen in love with penniless Mary Thorne. Despite the promptings of his family to consider a Miss Dunstable, heiress to a fortune, Frank's affections persist, and the humane Doctor Thorne, as Mary's protector, must confront the prejudices of the mid-Victorian society.

The Mermaids Singing

The bodies of four men have been discovered in the town of Bradfield. Enlisted to investigate is criminal psychologist Tony Hill. Even for a seasoned professional, the series of mutilation sex murders is unlike anything he's encountered before. But profiling the psychopath is not beyond him. Hill's own past has made him the perfect man to comprehend the killer's motives. It's also made him the perfect victim. A game has begun for the hunter and the hunted.

Still Midnight

Alex Morrow is not new to the police force - or to crime - but there is nothing familiar about the call she has just received. On a still night in a quiet suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, three armed men have slipped into a house, demanding a man who is not, and has never been, inside the front door. In the confusion that ensues, one family member is shot and another kidnapped, the assailants demanding an impossible ransom. Is this the amateur crime gone horribly wrong that it seems, or something much more unexpected?

Unnatural Death: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery, Book 3

The wealthy Agatha Dawson is dead and there are no apparent signs of foul play. Lord Peter Wimsey, however, senses that something is amiss and he refuses to let the case rest - even without any clues or leads. Suddenly, he is faced with another murder - Agatha's maid. Can super-sleuth Wimsey find the murderer and solve the case before he becomes the killer's next victim?

Frenchman's Creek

Eventually Dona lands in remote Navron, looking for peace of mind in its solitary woods and hidden creeks. She finds the passion her spirit craves in the love of a daring French pirate who is being hunted by all of Cornwall. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him

The Man Who Went Up in Smoke: A Martin Beck Mystery

His holiday with his family has just begun, but a phone call sends Martin Beck packing off to Budapest, where a boorish journalist has vanished without a trace. With the aid of the coolly efficient local police, who do business while soaking at the public baths, Beck must troll about in the Eastern Europe underworld for a man nobody knows - while he is at the risk of vanishing along with his quarry.

The Woman in White

Secrets, mistaken identities, surprise revelations, amnesia, locked rooms and locked asylums, and an unorthodox villain made this mystery thriller an instant success when it first appeared in 1860, and it has continued to enthrall ever since. From the hero's foreboding before his arrival at Limmeridge House to the nefarious plot concerning the beautiful Laura, the breathtaking tension of Collins's narrative created a new literary genre of suspense fiction, which profoundly shaped the course of English popular writing.

Cranford

This charming piece of social observation throws a gentle spotlight on life in a small village in northern England of the 1850s. The middle-aged ladies, existing in rather impoverished circumstances, nevertheless maintain the rules of politeness which they feel they should live by.

The King's General

Honor Harris is only 18 when she first meets Richard Grenvile, proud, reckless - and utterly captivating. But following a riding accident, Honor must reconcile herself to a life alone. As the English Civil war is waged across the country, Richard rises through the ranks of the army, marries and makes enemies, and Honor remains true to him.

No Wind of Blame: Inspector Hemingway, Book 1

The superlatively analytical Inspector Hemingway is confronted by a murder that seems impossible – no one was near the murder weapon at the time the shot was fired. Everyone on the scene seems to have a motive, not to mention the wherewithal to commit murder, and alibis that simply don't hold up.

Publisher's Summary

T.S. Eliot described The Moonstone as "the first and the greatest English detective novel".

The stone of the title is an enormous diamond plundered from an Indian shrine after the Siege of Seringapatam. Given to Miss Verinder on her 18th birthday, it mysteriously disappears that very night. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who have been seen in the neighbourhood.

I was attracted to THE MOONSTONE after reading (Hearing) Wilkie Collins" THE WOMAN IN WHITE. What is fascinating to me is how a book written over 140 years ago can be read eaily without footnotes to explain the significance of the events of the time. The characters and the action brought me into that time period with ease.

I plan to sownload every Wilkie Collins book that is available in Audible.com

I probably never would have read this on paper - too old-fashioned, too long - but with it narrated (and done so well by Jeffrey!) I was able to hear the voices of the characters and be entertained by the different perspectives as each one tells the story from their point of view. I thought this was a masterfully crafted story, with parts that made me laugh out loud. Had to be able to concentrate when listening to keep track of the plot and characters.

I read this book years ago & loved it, but it is very long, so I have not read it since. I am VERY glad that I invested the time to listen to it now. The book is even better than I remember it. The author was a great talent & the reader's skill makes it a truely amazing listening experience. I whole-heartedly recommend this book & this reader to anyone who wants a quality, intelligent listen.

First, I'm a fan of Charles Dickens' novels, so historical fiction doesn't challenge me in the slightest, provided it has a plot. And The Moonstone has plot in spades, along with one of the most adorable characters I've ever encountered in all of literature (Gabriel Betteredge), and a wonderfully involved, somewhat gothic, mystery. If films like Gosford Park send you screaming, don't even dream of taking on this novel. But if you love English historical and gothic fiction, and enjoy an occasional mystery, this atmospheric gem will provide hours of guilty pleasure. Wilkie Collins was a contemporary (and friend) of Dickens, so expect similar pacing. Peter Jeffrey's narration was superb!

The narrator was wonderful and the story was interesting and highly enjoyable. The plot might be a bit slow and verbose for some people, but if you like a well turned phrase and detailed character depictions, you will like this aspect as much as I did. The narrator's reading and distinctive voices for the different characters was outstanding.

Many consider the Moonstone to be the first detective novel ever written. And it's, in my opinion, one of the best. The plot is riveting, the story full of surprises. Even when Collins seems to be losing his way in a subplot, he always manage to enrich the main mystery: what happened to the Moonstone, a huge diamond discovered in India and sent to a young woman from her uncle. Almost as soon as she comes into possession of this magnificient jewel, it mysteriously disappears. What happened to the Moonstone, who took it, why and how? The how is especially puzzling. One thing is for sure, you will be entertained all the way to the final solution to this puzzle. It's a must read for true mystery fans.

The narration done by Peter Jeffrey is first class. I could listen to him telling stories all day long. Enjoy!

This is one of the best audible listens yet. I am very particular in choosing my audio books and it took me sometime to settle on this one - I don't regret it in the least. It was a marvelous and keen story. Very perceptive and subtly witty. It is not a fast paced or a short book, but I was happy to return to it every time I had the chance to listen. I am looking forward to reading other works by Wilkie Collins and I thought Peter Jeffery captured the emotion and flavor of the work beautifully.

When I first started listening to the book I had to keep restarting it to get used to the accents and sentence structure. Even though this is written in English I felt challenged to understand the train of thought of the writer.

At about one third into the book the perspective changed. The story narration was taken over by another character and I realized that the first narrative was intentionally written in a "wandering" style to reflect the personality of that character.

Subsequent narratives were much easier to understand and to the point of the story. It is easy to see why one might stop listening to the first wordy and tedious narrative.

If you like stories to proceed at quick pace I would recommend the abridged version which I would expect to be more concise.

Please excuse the pun! This is the best audiobook I have ever listened to. Peter Jeffrey's reading is superb, bringing each character to life - from the trusted family butler Betteridge to the faintly ridiculous religous spunster Miss Clack. In terms of the story - it is superb piece of Victorian derring-do with a spirited young hero and heroine, a conspiracy involving mysterious foreigners, a lovelorn housemaid and opiuos use of laudanum. The writing is witty and sympathetic. The plot is complex, and though perhaps not as tightly plotted as a modern day thriller this would be enjoyed by lovers of detection fiction as well as fans of victorina.

Highly reccommended!!

35 of 35 people found this review helpful

Nick

Stevenage, United Kingdom

10/8/08

Overall

"Excellent Reading"

Not only is this a compelling and masterful story, but the narrator Peter Jeffrey brings the book alive with a most accomplished reading. Each character and textual narrator is given a unique and highly sympathetic voice that captivates the listener with a flawlessness that can only add to the magic of the book itself.
Highly recommended.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Nadia

Didcot, United Kingdom

9/9/08

Overall

"Brilliant"

I'm loving this. I read it years ago and didn't remember the details. The story is great, the reading fantastic. I'm about half way through, listening whilst commuting, and it has turned the drive into a real pleasure.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Choosy

East Midlands

1/20/11

Overall

"good listening"

Wilkie Collins' best book, beautifully read by Peter Jeffrey. I had to look again at the description to double-check that it wasn't a dramatisation, so consistent and well-differentiated are his voices. A delight to listen to.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Kate

Windsor, United Kingdom

4/19/11

Overall

"A mystery that keeps you guessing."

This was a lovely book and beautifully read with excellent characterisations. A good whodunnit with a bit of love interest. Very enjoyable.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Tei

Banbury, Oxon, United Kingdom

8/21/09

Overall

"PURE PLEASURE"

This recording of a fabulous classic is an absolute joy. Peter Jeffrey, the reader, is a superb interpreter of Collins' writing. I longed to hear more. Thank you Peter Jeffrey!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Miss

Saffron Walden, United Kingdom

2/21/13

Overall

"Excellent"

I absolutely loved reading the Moonstone (in paper) years ago, and was excited to get the audiobook. It does not disappoint. The individual character of each persons narrative (different characters are used to relate the same story) is preserved perfectly by the use of different voices cleverly done, not over accented. Although this may be considered a classic, I would suggest really it is a comedy, lots of laugh out loud sentences while driving along in the car! Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Jenny

Bradford on AvonUnited Kingdom

2/4/10

Overall

"The original detective story brought to life"

This is the first audiobook I've listened to for a long time. In the past I'd always found them inferior to "the real thing" but this one has totally changed my mind. Wonderfully narrated in a way that transmits the pace and energy of the story, this audiobook is excellent. I don't know whether books written in the Victorian era especially lend themselves to this format, I suspect that they do. I'm going to test my theory with some Dickens next!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

H

Richmond, United Kingdom

4/14/09

Overall

"Fantastic"

This is yet another wonderful audio book - Peter Jeffrey's brilliant reading of a book that keeps one guessing till the end gave me great enjoyment. I did not think there could be a narrator that could match Stephen Fry but I think Peter Jeffrey does!! Highly recommended

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Mr.

Glasgow, United Kingdom

7/8/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Hard to beat."

I don't usually listen to fiction, being much more of a narrative history fan. However, I was an admirer of the late Peter Jeffrey and bought the Moonstone because of his narration. I could not be happier with this audiobook. The story, one of the earliest examples of detective fiction, fully deserves its high reputation among the great British classics, and Peter Jeffrey's handling of the epistolary nature of the narrative is magnificent. Old or young, male or female, Yorkshireman or Indian, he voices each with skill, taste and intelligence creating a wonderful recording. Highly recommended, my only regret is that Peter Jeffrey didn't leave more of a legacy for us to enjoy.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.